NLP helps Metronet Rail maintenance employees to stay on track : Techniques prove their worth in a period of organizational upheaval

Purpose – Describes how neuro‐linguistic programming (NLP) techniques helped employees of a Tube maintenance company during a period of major organizational upheaval. Design/methodology/approach – Explains the background to NLP training among the learning and development team at Metronet Rail, and the use the team members made of the techniques. Findings – Details, in particular, how good communication, listening and empathy skills proved invaluable as the significant organizational changes unfolded. Practical implications – Reveals that NLP techniques also helped the learning and development team to develop individualized options to assist other people caught up in the change. Social implications – Highlights how NLP techniques can help people to develop as individuals, as well as employees, to the benefit of society as a whole, as well as individual employers. Originality/value – Reveals how NLP training can help to get the best out of people during organizational change.